Kim: Look at that cool shell....I think I`ll go pick it up
Emily: Ummm hold on......I think its a human skull
Kim: Are you sure? .......Yikes it is.....What should we do?
Emily: Probably tell the police
Kim: Do you know how to say "skull" in Spanish?
We wasted no time getting our first (and hopefully last) introduction with the Peruvian police. Luckily one had just driven past and was easy to flag down. By the time we left there were two cars and about ten officers "guarding" the scene.....No one took down our names or information, but we have been watching the news for updates....nothing so far, but let us know if it makes CNN.
After pretening to be junior detectives, we got down to business by hearing a morning lecture at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos by archaeologist Jorge Silva. San Marcos is the first EVER university in the Americas (sorry Harvard). It was a very fitting backdrop to recieve an overview lecture on pre-Inca Peruvian history. Dr. Silva is a Fulbright alumnus who studied at the University of Michigan (Go blue!).
In the afternoon, we visited another Fulbirght alumnus, but in a very different setting. We made the trip by taxi to the outskirts of Lima, to visit school Colegio Fe y Alegria 23. The district the school is in is a former shanty town that started being settled about thirty years ago. Since the development of the area is relatively long standing, homes and shops are now made out of permenant materials, but still represent a much lower socioeconomic status than we had been exposed to by staying in Miraflores (a more upper middle class section of Lima). The land is much drier, and backs up to one of the many hill-mountains that surrond the city. While there are public streets, the allys are actually publically built and maintained stairwells as a way to accomodate the landscape. Since there is very little rain, everything is covered in layers of dust. Houses located further up the hills are less likely to have basic services.
Christine F., a teacher just finishing up a Fulbright teacher exchange, served as our tour guide for the school. Christine served as an excellent cultural interpreter given she is now from "both worlds." She was also a great resource for getting more information on the teacher exchange program, which some members of our group are interested in pursuing. While the school has almost no resources, they have created a haven for students to enter. Students work hard and are proud of what they are able to achieve. We got to watch a class of students practicing for the folkloric festival, which is one the of biggest events for the school and community. Each class creates a performance and the best class wins a prize. The prize is normally a day trip to a country club type place.
After visiting the school we boarded a plane and safely landed in Trujillo. More adventures to come!
Kim
Boston
History
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